The leading topic of conversation this summer for the Golden State Warriors has been the impending future of Jonathan Kuminga. The franchise is in a contract standstill with the 21-year-old, hoping to have him sign the qualifying offer for next season, while he wants a long-term deal.
Now more than two months into the offseason, the restricted free agent in Kuminga has yet to sign anything regarding his future with the Warriors. As the situation has been leading headlines on a Stephen Curry-led title hopeful, many have given their thoughts on how either Kuminga or Golden State should approach the gridlock.
Speaking with Action Network, former Warriors star and Hall of Fame point guard Tim Hardaway stated what he believes Kuminga should do.
“It’s difficult for Kuminga. I know he doesn’t fit in their skin. After two or three years, you know you don’t fit, and you try to get a trade,” Hardaway said. “He’s gonna have to sign a one-year deal. He’s gonna have to go in there and play his [expletive] off.”
Kuminga remains an unsigned restricted free agent and is reportedly holding up the Warriors from making further roster changes for next season.
Hardaway Blames CBA For Kuminga Situation
While Kuminga has expressed interest in a long-term deal worth $20-$30 million annually, Golden State is hopeful he will return on the roughly $7.9 million qualifying offer. Hardaway blames the current collective bargaining agreement signed by the players’ union for the type of situation Kuminga and Golden State find themselves in now.
“The majority of them didn’t wanna go that way, but they were persuaded to go that way because they were looking at the money that they were getting already,” Hardaway said from a player’s perspective on the CBA. “So now they understand that we messed up, we should not have done that collective bargaining agreement, so we could be this unrestricted free agent.”
Based on the CBA, players like Kuminga have found themselves in similar ‘restricted free agent‘ situations. Both Josh Giddey and Cam Thomas were similar cases, but both recently agreed on deals to return to their teams from last season.
Kuminga differs, and as of now, continues to hold little influence on his future, as seen with the contract standstill. Hardaway predicted that if sorted out soon, Kuminga will still likely be moved by Golden State sometime next year.
“He’s going to have to make it where either they’re gonna trade him or they are not gonna trade him. That’s the only thing I can say. But I think he’s a good player. I just think that Steve Kerr lost faith in him and I don’t think that he’s going to be there,” Hardaway added. “I don’t think he’s gonna be there for half the season.”
The Former Warriors Star On Jimmy Butler Trade
In the interview, Hardaway also commented on the trade that sent Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat to the Bay Area. Hardaway played for both teams, but took Miami’s perspective when asked about the impact of the trade.
“I was surprised,“ Hardaway said. “But Jimmy is gonna be Jimmy. Jimmy wanted an extension. Pat Riley said, ‘Why do I owe you an extension? You were hurt for the last couple of years going into the play-in game.”
After making the Finals with Miami twice, Butler’s relationship with the team began to sour. Following a back-and-forth with Riley and multiple other squabbles with the franchise, the six-time All-Star was sent out West for a package surrounding Andrew Wiggins.
Along with the issues between Butler and the organization that were made public, Hardaway believes there were behind-closed-door problems that resulted in the split.
“I know some things that were going on there that Jimmy was doing that I can’t reveal, but it wasn’t good and it wasn’t good for the team,” he added.
Regardless, Butler joined Golden State with an immediate impact. The team went 23-8 to close the regular season with him on the roster, with multiple players seeing an increase in shooting percentage with him as a leading facilitator.
“So yeah, it got ugly, but Pat stood on his ground, which Pat is going to do, and what he feels is right for the team,” Hardaway said in closing. “And that was it. Everybody’s moving forward, and you’re with your team, I’m with my team, and let’s be happy.”
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